by admin | May 25, 2021 | Interviews
UN Environment chief Erik Solheim
By Vishal Gulati,
Da Nang (Vietnam) : Plastic drinking straws are just one example of some of the pointless plastic products that have proved to be a curse for the environment, United Nations Environment head Erik Solheim has said.
“We also have pointless packaging, pointless plastic bags and huge quantities of other products that are used for minutes or seconds and that we can easily live without,” Solheim told IANS in an interview here.
He’s in this Vietnamese port city for the Sixth Global Environment Facility (GEF) assembly.
The GEF is a crucial mechanism to provide grants for environment projects globally, mainly to the developing nations facing environmental crises.
“Certainly, tough rules to get rid of these (plastics) do work. More importantly, we need to use this as a spark to re-examine our wider consumption habits.”
Solheim was categorical in saying governments need strong policy action, the kind that blocks destructive behaviour and rewards innovators and new solutions.
The private sector needs to adopt a policy of extended producer responsibility, in other words taking responsibility for the full lifecycle of their products, and innovate for the solutions of tomorrow.
“From individuals, we need them to exercise their incredible power as consumers,” said the UN Environment Executive Director.
On India’s commitment to beat plastic pollution, he said: “India made a huge commitment by promising the elimination of single-use plastic by 2022.”
“It’s a bold commitment that sends an incredibly strong message around the world. It’s the kind of leadership and big ambition that the world needs right now.
Solheim, who was in India’s national capital to host a UN Environment-led global event to mark World Environment Day on June 5, said everything is possible with a strong political will. “In addition India is a great innovator. All the prerequisites for success are there.”
India on June 5 announced it would eliminate all single-use plastic in the country by 2022.
On the success of UN Environment’s global CleanSeas campaign that was launched last year, Solheim said the tide has clearly turned in terms of awareness.
The fact that plastic pollution has really captured the public imagination, and we are all beginning to think far more critically about our consumption habits. We’re also seeing very bold policy pledges, from key economies like India and the European Union.
“What we need to see next is action. That means upstream change in the way we use this miracle product. We need to be far smarter. We need to innovate.”
Is the electric vehicle boom coming across the globe? “Yes,” he replied.
“I think we’ll see a big boom for electrical vehicles in the near future, and early adopters will reap the benefits of cleaner air if they also manage to phase down petrol and diesel vehicles.”
“I would encourage emerging markets to do everything possible to leapfrog old technologies, but also to invest more in public transportation systems too.”
The UN Environment on Tuesday launched an electrical vehicle programme under GEF’s new four-year investment cycle, known as GEF-7.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) and the UN Environment are the leading global agencies this transformation to meet global and national emissions targets.
The IEA is a coordinator of the Clean Energy Ministerial’s Electrical Vehicles Initiative, while the UN Environment is supporting more than 40 countries, including India, with the introduction electrical public and private transport.
(Vishal Gulati is in Da Nang for the Internews’ Earth Journalism Network Biodiversity Fellowship Programme at the Sixth Global Environment Facility (GEF) Assembly. He can be reached at vishal.g@ians.in)
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Interviews
Erik Solheim
By Kushagra Dixit,
New Delhi : United Nations Environment head Erik Solheim believes that only India can help itself when it comes to “Beat Plastic Pollution” — this year’s theme of World’s Environment Day that the country is hosting — or to rustle up the finances for this.
With the United States working on its way to quit the historic Paris Climate Agreement, Solheim says it’s just the right time for India and China — among the world’s top polluters — to lead the world in the war against climate change and pollution.
“First of all, only India can change India. Indian political leaders and its people can change India,” Solheim told IANS in an interview.
“But we can help,” he continued, adding that despite being in a desperate situation to work upon its solid waste management, the world can still learn from India and India can learn from China and vice versa.
India produces over 62 million tonnes of solid waste every year, of which only 43 million tonnes is collected, only 12 million tonnes treated and the rest dumped. According to the experts, the figure is expected to rise to 436 million tonnes by 2050.
“There is a huge issue of waste management in India and everyone can see that; we went from train to Agra from Delhi and we saw. There was plastic all over the rails, that’s a problem,” he said, highlighting the “big need” to manage that.
Speaking of plastic waste alone, approximately 900,000 tonnes of PET — used to make soft drink bottles, furniture, carpet, paneling, etc. — was produced in India in 2015-16, as reported by the National Chemical Laboratory.
About 25,000 tonnes of plastic waste is generated evey year in India, of which only 60 per cent, according to Union Environment Minister Harsh Vardhan, is recycled. Delhi with 689.52 tonnes tops the chart of plastic waste followed by Chennai (429.39 tonnes), Mumbai (408.27 tonnes), Bengaluru (313.87 tonnes) and Hyderabad (199.33 tonnes).
Solheim, however, was optimistic about India and counts on the initiative taken by the country’s political leaders. According to business analysts, Indian waste management Industry has a potential of $15 billion with promising growth prospects.
“To tackle the situation, you need to see how these problems were resolved in the past. For instance, we resolved the biggest global environment problem of 1980s — the hole in the ozone layer. At that time also political leaders and businesses bought us the solutions,” he pointed out.
Appreciating China for cleaning its rivers, Solheim highlighted the scope of learning for India. “If China can do that then India can do that in Ganga and other rivers,” he added.
Pointing to the International Solar Alliance, Kochi airport, which is the world’s first solar-powered airport, and the world’s biggest solar power plant in Tamil Nadu, Solheim believed that the world can learn much from India.
“We can provide the best Indian practices to the world and can bring best practices from the world to India,” he noted.
Asked about the polluting images of India and China he lauded the two nations for working towards solutions.
“India and China, frankly speaking, are in the lead of solving their environment issues, obviously there had been challenges,” he said.
“China has been cleaning its rivers like no other nation in human history. They have reduced pollution in Beijing by 30 to 40 percent. Similarly in India, city of Hyderabad has been declared plastic-free and soon the area around the Taj Mahal will also be,” he said.
Drawing parallels between the issues of India and China — traffic and vehicular pollution — he pointed out how China had built Metro rails in 35 cities in the last 10 years and has also emerged as the biggest market for electric vehicles, adding that given the trajectory of its growth, India will catch up very fast.
(Kushagra Dixit can be reached at kushagra.d@ians.in)
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Interviews
Erik Solheim
By Vishal Gulati,
New Delhi : Plastic pollution is one of the biggest environmental threats and countries need better waste management to cope with the sheer quantity of plastic rubbish that is fouling the waters and environment, says United Nations Environment head Erik Solheim.
“Plastic pollution is one of the biggest environmental threats the planet is facing right now,” Solheim emphasised.
Sample these startling facts about plastic pollution: Every year the world uses 500 billion plastic bags. Fifty per cent of the plastic we use is single-use or disposable. Each year, at least eight million tonnes of plastic end up in the oceans, the equivalent of a full garbage truck every minute.
In the last decade, the world produced more plastic than in the whole of last century.
“We’re throwing up to 13 million tonnes of plastic waste into the oceans each year, and in the next decade that could double . We’re turning the oceans into a plastic soup,” the UN Under-Secretary-General told IANS in an exclusive online interview.
“This has to stop, and right now, because it’s harming marine life and ending up in our own food and water supplies. If it’s not resolved, this is a problem that will come back to bite us. It’s also a problem that’s difficult to clean up.
“We’d like to see a mass mobilisation of people around the world and big clean-ups. These are important because no amount of clean-ups can solve this issue. We need upstream change, that means a change in the way we use plastic,” Solheim, who is coming to India, a host to UN Environment-led global event World Environment Day on June 5.
“Beat Plastic Pollution”, the theme for World Environment 2018, urges governments, industry and individuals to explore sustainable alternatives and reduce the production and excessive use of single-use plastic polluting oceans, damaging marine life and threatening human health.
“We need consumers to pause and examine their relationship with plastic. If we look at our daily lives, there is so much single-use and throwaway plastic that can easily be eliminated and replaced with sustainable alternatives. If enough people do this, it translates into colossal consumer power!” Solheim said.
For companies, he says: “Then we want industry to innovate, to find sustainable alternatives and embrace the idea of extended producer responsibility — by which a manufacturer takes responsibility for the entire lifecycle of their product.”
“I strongly believe that the companies that innovate now will be the winners of the future.”
“We also want governments to drive this change through legislation, and ensure we have strong enforcement. It’s about ensuring manufacturers have the necessary incentives in place to do the right thing.”
There’s no single, magic solution to enforce a ban on single-use pet bottles or straws. Every minute we buy one million plastic bottles globally, according to the UN Environment.
“It’s clear that we need better waste management to cope with the sheer quantity of plastic rubbish. But let’s not see this as just a litter problem. We need to stop wasteful practice and to do that bans on certain single-use plastic items are helpful,’ he said.
“Ultimately, though, we need changes in design. We need to see sustainable alternatives emerge on the market to replace so much of the wasteful plastic products that we use.”
Yes, India needs more Afroz Shah, not only for clean-up oceans but also for rivers and mountains.
“Afroz Shah is a great inspiration, not only for India but for the entire world. So yes, we do need more people like him! What is important is not just the quantity of litter that has been collected, but that a powerful message has been sent around the world and that this message has been heard!”
Shah, a young lawyer from Mumbai, and his volunteers have removed around 13 million kg of waste since 2015 in what the UN has called “the world’s largest beach cleanup project”.
Solheim is optimistic that India can act as a catalyst for curbing pollution.
“Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi recently said it would be a crime against future generations not to take action on climate change.
“India, therefore, carries a strong moral argument. In addition, India is among the nations that stand to suffer the biggest impact from climate change; so it’s important that it acts as a powerful voice for action on the global stage,” he said.
“India is also innovating, and that’s what I think will be its biggest act of leadership: showing climate action can also unlock incredible economic gains,” he added.
(Vishal Gulati can be contacted at vishal.g@ians.in )
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Interviews
By Vishal Gulati,
New Delhi : There’s no magic solution to the smog problem in the Indian capital as it’s caused by a variety of factors, United Nations Environment head Erik Solheim has said, adding: “The key here is providing clear, decisive leadership on the issue.”
It’s the same in New Delhi, Manchester, London, Beijing or Nairobi. Citizens and politicians have to breathe the same air. It’s possible to build a strong consensus for action to opt for low-carbon solutions.
“Delhi’s smog problem is caused by a variety of factors. These range from agricultural burning, the burning of waste, transport, construction and power generation, among others,” Solheim told IANS in an online interview from Nairobi, which is hosting the UN Environment Assembly next week.
He said the priority is really to establish a scientific basis for action, using air quality monitoring technology to identify the precise sources of pollution.
“Policymakers can then use that data to prioritise areas of action and plan future change. The key here is providing clear, decisive leadership on the issue. Given the public health concerns, anyone taking firm action can be sure of winning public support,” he observed.
Ahead of the third session of the UN Environment Assembly, where world leaders are gathering for the largest global meeting on pollution, an optimistic Solheim said there’s a need for action on transport to curb emissions.
Transport accounts for nearly 18 per cent of all emissions worldwide, and over 90 per cent of the sector is still dependent on carbon-intensive fossil fuels.
“We need action on transport for two reasons. The transport sector, be it on land, in the air or at sea, is a major contributor to emissions and a driver of climate change. It’s also a big cause of pollution, with an immediate detrimental impact on the health of hundreds of millions of people,” Solheim said.
“We have started to see a shift to low-carbon solutions, but this needs to speed up. I’m convinced that the days are numbered for the internal combustion engine, with many nations now committing themselves to a time-bound phase-out of petrol and diesel vehicles,” he said.
“But we really need to see more innovation and change in the air transport and shipping sectors.”
The UN Environment Assembly, with 193 nations as its members, aims to deliver commitments to end the pollution of air, land, waterways and oceans and to safely manage chemicals and waste.
According to Solheim, what’s happening in many cities around the world is criminal, and people deserve far better.
“Living in a city should not mean being condemned to poor health and an early death. On the positive side, both policymakers and citizens are increasingly aware of the issue, and especially the costs to health, to productivity and to the environment.
“It’s possible to build a strong consensus for action. The benefit here is that action on tackling poor air quality in cities is also a big part of the action we need to take on climate change,” he said.
On stepping up action to fight oceanic pollution, he said: “Beach clean-up initiatives are fantastic because they are a very useful tool to highlight the sheer scale of the problem and they help galvanise public support for change.
“But ultimately, we have to stop plastics getting into the oceans in the first place. For this we need stronger political leadership on the issue. Better waste management, incentives for recycling and producers taking more responsibility for where their products end up.”
Solheim, an admirer of Indian lawyer Afroz Shah’s commitment and passion for clean seas, says his model of cleaning beaches can be replicated for the rest of the world.
For Solheim, the solution to reduce greenhouse gas emissions lies in steering electricity sector transformation towards green technology.
China and India are both undergoing extraordinary change, and the shift to renewables in both the countries has been one of the most promising trends of recent years.
“I’m convinced that both nations will emerge as global energy leaders if they continue on this path,” said Solheim, who recently tried out one of the bicycles delivered by Mobike that will be available for delegates to move around during the UN Environment Assembly.
He believes the bike aims to provide affordable and clean transport solutions for the cities.
(Vishal Gulati is travelling to Nairobi at the invitation of United Nations Environment Assembly to cover its third annual session. He can be contacted at vishal.g@ians.in)
—IANS
